Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 106,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,789,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 4.9% in the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 0.8% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 31,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,208,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 3.7% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in CenterPoint Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CNP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, June 15th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $50.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.36.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CNP opened at $39.24 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.60 and a 1-year high of $45.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.32 and a 200 day moving average of $42.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 11.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.47%.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE: CNP) is a Houston-based regulated utility company that provides electric and natural gas delivery services and related infrastructure operations. The company’s principal activities center on the transmission and distribution of electricity in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the distribution of natural gas to customers across several states in the Midwest and South. As a vertically integrated utility, CenterPoint focuses on the reliable delivery of energy through owned and operated networks of lines, pipelines and associated facilities.

CenterPoint’s core businesses include regulated electric transmission and distribution services, regulated natural gas distribution, and the operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.